Brent Snyder, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement at the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, recently provided advice on maintaining an effective antitrust compliance program.

Two recent cases involving the US Department of Justice, Antitrust Division demonstrate that the DOJ and the US Federal Trade Commission will review mergers that otherwise escape the agencies’ scrutiny by falling below the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act merger filing thresholds.

The US Federal Trade Commission recently issued a consent decree that brings into focus the risks of requiring exclusivity. While In the Matter of Pool Corporation, FTC File No. 101 0115 (Nov. 21, 2011), involves unique facts, we believe that the FTC is investigating a number of exclusive arrangements, and that there may be other consent decrees to follow.

Marking the 20th anniversary of the cooperation agreement between the United States and the
European Union regarding the application of their competition laws, the US and EU antitrust/competition agencies have published a revised set of Best Practices on Cooperation in Merger Investigations ("Best Practices").

The United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division filed a complaint and a consent judgment on February 25, 2011, charging a Texas hospital system with unlawful monopolization through a policy of offering steep discounts in exchange for exclusivity.

Two recent enforcement actions by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) reinforce the willingness of the federal antitrust authorities to challenge consummated mergers.

The importance of acquiring companies refraining from the exercise of control over target companies before the government has completed its mandatory review pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) was reinforced recently by a Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division complaint filed against Smithfield Foods, Inc.